Kokoro Maimi and Kumori
Apprentices, Light
Everlastia, Keyblade Guild, Tree of Blessings
ARPers: @FedoraChar (?)

People were starting to leave the tree behind, Kokoro noted as other guild members drifted past herself and Kumori, who still hadn't let go of her. "...So your reaction earlier, Ku," she started, but was cut off as two things happened.

First, the shadow of a bird passed overhead.

Then Kumori jerked her to a halt as he promptly froze.

"Kumori?" Kokoro attempted to turn to look at him, but couldn't. His arms had become vices, holding her perfectly in place. "Kumori, Ku, talk to me," she insisted, "please, what's wrong?"

Unfortunately, Kumori couldn't hear her. Had Kokoro been able to see his face, she'd have known that immediately. Instead of his mind being focused on the outer world, it had turned inward, trying to contain the chaos that had completely exploded within. He didn't even know what had triggered it--he'd seen a flash of darkness as some kind of bird passed overhead, and then suddenly his mind was in shambles.

Something about that bird sang to his darker side, and it had reacted, attempting to claw its way to the surface to get closer to it. Kumori, on the other hand, was struggling to keep it at bay, a task that required his full concentration to remove every foothold it might be able to reach.

"Let. Me. OUT!" his darker half screamed within the confines of their shared mind. Kumori's entire body tensed so hard it trembled.

"...please, Ku, you're scaring me..." Kokoro's voice seemed to drift in like snatches of piano heard through a door across the hall.

"She'll be the first to go, I swear it," the voice hissed, however instead of making his control shatter, Kumori's resolve to keep the voice at bay strengthened. He couldn't let it out, couldn't let it hurt Kokoro.

But he also couldn't let Kokoro know what was going on.